Catalina is a courtesan in 1663. Lonely and depressed, she decided to return to the church she grew up in. There she talked to Father Benedict. After being abused by her benefactor, she ran back to the church where the Father helped her. She soon found herself falling in love with him and wanted to seduce him. I enjoyed reading this book very much. I especially enjoyed the surprise ending. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance, danger and intrigue.

I love a good de-frocking story, but no - not these characters (fairly one-dimensional) and not this story (simplistic, largely tension-free and uninteresting).

If you want to read a de-frocking story, I recommend reading Erich Segal's "Acts of Faith". The characters are much more fully formed/realized and the story is more interesting and has more heft than this farrago.

I've read this before and only remembering it now. A story that is actually quite good beyond what its synopsis offers.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC. This book turned out to be better than I thought it would. I could pretty much count on the outcome but it was a wild ride getting there with a surprising twist at the end. Loved it

I absolutely loved this book. I was a little apprehensive at first because priest love stories sometimes go south very fast; however, some of the other reviews made me believe that there was more to the story than a young priest who easily falls into bed with an attractive woman.

I appreciated Catalina‘s backstory and the aspects of her personality and life outside of her relationship with Benedict.
I would have loved to have read portions of this from Benedict’s point of view though. He’s charismatic and I can only think that his thoughts and feelings would have made it more exciting.

The author did an excellent job in her writing. The plot is solid and pretty darn enjoyable and the dialogue is free flowing and organic. My only gripe is that the ending was rushed.

I’m not sure if it’s limited to my ARC copy but I noticed there were some missing words or grammatical errors as well as missing lines. Twice, a sentence at the bottom of a page would cut off and then on the next page, the latter half of a different sentence continued.

Very graphic! I didn’t feel a lot of character development here but if you are purely looking for erotic then this is the book! It’s very graphic, perhaps not a good idea to gift this to a Catholic granny...

I have to say that I quite like this book even though I usually prefer to read historical romance placed in the UK. I was afraid it was going to be a little too dark for my taste, but I was definitely wrong and I´m really happy that I requested this book.
Benedict is so nice. He is like every priest Catholics wish for. Patient, considerate, so beautiful human being! When he meets Catalina, he can´t stop desiring her, but his main concern is for her wellbeing and not his pleasure. Catalina lives a difficult life as a courtesan. She enjoys her freedom, but at the same time dreads the loneness and the danger of always living her life depending of men wills. She falls in love with Benedict, but fights her attraction in order to protect him.
Once passion takes them by storm, there´s not going back. The sex is great, but the love between them is even more enjoyable. I highly recommend this book.

I picked up this book because I love the concept of a priest tortured by love/forbidden love. The woman who tempts him is a courtesan trapped in a contract with an abusive man. The book is a compelling, atmospheric, and suspenseful read. I felt like I never quite knew what was going to happen next. The tone is very dark and there are some difficult violent scenes. The dialogue was well done and the love scenes extremely hot and sensual. I only wished that I experienced more from the point of view of the priest--mostly it was in her point of view with a bit of hopping into his head here and there. This could do with a proofread as there were several omitted pronouns and articles, etc. If you like a gritty romantic read with tortured characters, I think you will enjoy this. The setting in France is very evocative and while the writing is somewhat spare I did feel transported. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read and review.

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
This book was not your average romance. It was deep and complex, exploring issues beyond the typical tropes. The story explores the relationship between a priest and courtesan Catalina. The writing is good and the world building is adequate.
I particularly liked the crafting and development of the MCs which are more complex than your average MCs and so in my opinion, more interesting.
There are some upsetting scenes including abuse which some readers may find upsetting. Please be aware of that is the case.
Overall, a unique book.